On Monday, the billionaire Elon Musk interviewed Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in the US presidential election, live on his X social network. This has not only made Democrats in the US tremble, fearing a drop in support for their candidate Kamala Harris, but it has also brought fear to the “freedom of speech campaigners” in the European Union.
The European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, wanted to silence Elon Musk or censor Donald Trump before the scheduled interview. In his letter, he wrote that he had an obligation to prevent the dissemination of harmful content on the X platform. “With greater audience comes greater responsibility,” he wrote on X.
He was referring to the European Digital Services Act (DSA), which saw the European Union take legal action last December against the social network X, saying it believed the network was breaching the rules of the act, which requires major digital companies to effectively monitor online content and protect their users. “The DSA’s obligations apply without exception to the moderation of the entire community of users and content. We are monitoring potential risks in the EU related to the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hatred and racism in connection with major political – or social – events around the world,” Breton wrote.
The letter in its entirety reads:
“Dear Mr Musk,
I am writing to you in the context of recent events in the United Kingdom and in relation to the planned broadcast on your platform X of a live conversation between a US presidential candidate and yourself, which will also be accessible to users in the EU.
I understand that you are currently doing a stress test of the platform. In this context, I am compelled to remind you of the due diligence obligations set out in the Digital Services Act (DSA), as outlined in my previous letter. As the individual entity ultimately controlling a platform with over 300 million users worldwide, of which one third in the EU, that has been designated as a Very Large Online Platform, you have the legal obligation to ensure X’s compliance with EU law and in particular the DSA in the EU.
This notably means ensuring, on one hand, that freedom of expression and of information, including media freedom and pluralism, are effectively protected and, on the other hand, that all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including live streaming, which, if unaddressed, might increase the risk profile of X and generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security. This is important against the background of recent examples of public unrest brought about by the amplification of content that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation.
It also implies i) informing EU judicial and administrative authorities without undue delay on the measures taken to address their orders against content considered illegal, according to national and/ or EU law, ii) taking timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective action upon receipt of notices by users considering certain content illegal, iii) informing users concerning the measures taken upon receipt of the relevant notice, and iv) publicly reporting about content moderation measures.
In this respect, I note that the DSA obligations apply without exceptions or discrimination to the moderation of the whole user community and content of X (including yourself as a user with over 190 million followers) which is accessible to EU users and should be fulfilled in line with the risk-based approach of the DSA, which requires greater due diligence in case of a foreseeable increase of the risk profile.
As you know, formal proceedings are already ongoing against X under the DSA, notably in areas linked to the dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of the measures taken to combat disinformation.
As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU. Therefore, we are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.
Let me clarify that any negative effect of illegal content on X in the EU, which could be attributed to the ineffectiveness of the way in which X applies the relevant provisions of the DS, may be relevant in the context of the ongoing proceedings and of the overall assessment of X’s compliance with EU law. This is in line with what has already been done in the recent past, for example in relation to the repercussions and amplification of terrorist content or content that incites violence, hate and racism in the EU, such as in the context of the recent riots in the United Kingdom.
I therefore urge you to promptly ensure the effectiveness of your systems and to report measures taken to my team.
My services and I will be extremely vigilant to any evidence that points to breaches of the DSA and will not hesitate to make full use of our toolbox, including by adopting interim measures, should it be warranted to protect EU citizens from serious harm. Yours sincerely,
Thierry Breton”
Many insiders have come forward online to say that this is an unprecedented attempt to extend a law that was supposed to apply in Europe to political activities in the US. It also suggested that European citizens are incapable of listening to the conversation and drawing their own conclusions.
It seems incredible that the European Commission has issued an official ‘threat’ to Elon Musk over hosting Trump on X. This is considered political interference in another country and a serious threat to freedom of speech. They are now doing it openly. But who is Thierry Breton?
Breton is a rogue European bureaucrat
Thierry Breton, who wants to stop Elon Musk from spreading an agenda he disagrees with and who is the person behind the most absurd EU rules on restricting freedom of speech, is actually a resident of Senegal in order to pay lower taxes. He supposedly earns 20,000 euros net per month with the European Commission, and Senegal is quite generous to French dual nationals who pay taxes there – they pay less than 5 percent income tax. How does someone manage to be a European bureaucrat while cheating the very taxpayers he is supposed to be serving?
Namely, Thierry Breton has held dual French and Senegalese citizenship since 2015, a status he is said to be using to reduce his tax payments in Europe, while receiving a substantial salary from the European Commission.
Interview unscripted and unconstrained, which scares the EU
The question is, why is the EU trying to stop Elon Musk, who supported Trump’s campaign shortly after the assassination attempt on the 13th of July? “The interview will be unscripted, and there will be no restrictions on topics, so it should be a lot of fun,” Musk wrote on his X profile on Sunday. Meanwhile, in his first post on the X network in more than a year, Trump shared a video of his campaign in which he portrayed himself as a victim of persecution by forces that want to destroy the US. You can watch the interview at the following link: https://t.co/PLHekD9jzW
A. G.
